UH-Oklahoma only one of marquee matchups on opening weekend

LSU hopes Brandon Harris (6) can provide more consistent quarterback play than he did two years ago, when the Tigers beat Wisconsin in the season opener at NRG Stadium, a matchup that will be revived Saturday in Green Bay.

Photo: J. Patric Schneider, Freelance

Grab a bib and a seat at the table. The opening week of the college football season - at least on this side of the world - kicks off Thursday with a five-day, all-you-can-eat buffet of games.

While California and Hawaii opened the 2016 season Saturday in Sydney, Australia, college football returns stateside with Rice playing at Western Kentucky as part of Thursday's schedule, followed by Baylor hosting Northwestern State on Friday.

That leads into a monster Saturday of games, headlined by third-ranked Oklahoma and No. 15 Houston in the Advocare Texas Kickoff at NRG Stadium and No. 20 Southern Cal taking on defending national champion Alabama later that night at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

Still not full?

No. 10 Notre Dame and Texas tangle on Sunday night in Austin.

Here are a few of the don't-miss games of the opening weekend:

Appetizers

Rice at Western Kentucky; 7 p.m., Thursday, CBSSN.

After having their streak of three straight bowl appearances snapped with last season's 5-7 finish, the Owls break in a new quarterback (Tyler Stehling) and open Conference USA play right out of the gate against the defending East champion Hilltoppers.

Northwestern State at No. 23 Baylor; 6:30 p.m. Friday, FSSW

The Bears return to the field after a sexual assault scandal rocked the program, costing coach Art Briles his job and leading to the removal of athletic director Ian McCaw and school president Kenneth Starr. Interim coach Jim Grobe kept the Bears' high-scoring offense intact and returns Heisman Trophy hopeful quarterback Seth Russell and 1,000-yard rushers Shock Linwood and Johnny Jefferson.

If all the conference expansion talk isn't enough, the Cougars play what is arguably one of the biggest games in school history against the defending Big 12 champions. A win would propel UH into the early discussion for the College Football Playoff. The game features one of the best quarterback matchups of the opening weekend, with UH's Greg Ward Jr. and OU's Baker Mayfield.

No. 16 UCLA at Texas A&M; 2:30 p.m. Saturday, CBS.

Kyle Field should be rocking, but the Aggies are 1-6 against AP-ranked opponents under coach Kevin Sumlin, who enters the season on the hot seat. The Bruins, picked to win the Pac-12 South, have one of the best young quarterbacks in the nation in Josh Rosen. Here's a nice subplot: Former UCLA offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone left the Bruins in January to take the same position in Aggieland.

No. 5 LSU vs. Wisconsin (Lambeau Field); 2:30 p.m. Saturday, ABC.

ESPN's "College GameDay" invades the Green Bay Packers' home for what should be pound-the-ball football featuring running backs Leonard Fournette (LSU), a preseason Heisman favorite, and Corey Clement (Wisconsin). The Badgers also will be reunited with former defensive coordinator Dave Aranda, who left in the offseason for the same job in Baton Rouge.

The Tide must break in a new quarterback and replace Heisman winner Derrick Henry. Which means we'll probably see Alabama gunning for a fifth national title in eight years. The Trojans have weapons on offense, led by wide receiver Juju Smith-Schuster, a projected first-round NFL draft pick, and one of the best one-two backfield combos in Ronald Jones and Justin Davis.

Dessert

No. 10 Notre Dame at Texas; 6:30 p.m. Sunday, ABC.

Charlie Strong enters a pivotal third season in Austin, and he may be relying on a true freshman quarterback (Shane Buechele). Like UT, the Irish are still sorting out who plays quarterback, with DeShone Kizer and Malik Zaire the top candidates.

With senior quarterback Sean Maguire hobbled by a foot injury, the Seminoles are expected to start redshirt freshman Deondre Francois. The Rebels feature the SEC's top quarterback, Chad Kelly, who threw for 4,042 and 31 touchdowns last season. But the loss of three NFL first-round picks will hurt.

Joseph Duarte has been a sports reporter for the Houston Chronicle since August 1996. He currently covers college athletics, focusing on the University of Houston. Previously, he wrote about the Houston Astros from 1998-2002, Houston Texans from 2002-05 and the Texas Longhorns from 2005-09. He came to the Houston Chronicle as part of an internship through the Sports Journalism Institute in 1995.